(meteorobs) Dec 8/9, 2015 Pre-max GEM obs from North Florida - WOW, just... WOW!

[Paul Jones]

Greetings again all,
    I managed an astonishing, albeit abbreviated GEM watch this morning
from the meteor roof in St. Augustine, Florida.  The GEMS really roared to
life for a brief spurt, just before a bank of clouds suddenly popped up out
of nowhere and proceeded to shut me down!

    I had intended to go from 0400 local until dawn interference took
over.  But I never did make it all the way to the actual dawn.  Still, what
I did see was quite memorable to say the least!  All told, I had 43 total
meteors in 1 hour and 20 mins of observing time, with 19 of them being
GEMs. The first hour was pretty much standard stuff, but the 20 minutes
after that really got crazy indeed!

Dec., 8/9 2015 Observer: Paul Jones, Location: 5 miles southwest of St.
Augustine, Florida. LM: 6.2, Sky Condition: 25% cloud interference, Facing:
south

0400 - 0500 EST (0900 - 1000 UT) Teff: 1.0 hour, No breaks
12 GEM: +1, +2 (2), +3 (4), +4 (2), +5 (3)
3 HYD: +1, +3, +4
2 MON: +3 (2)
2 DLM: +2, +4
1 ANT: +3
10 SPO:
30 total meteors


0500 - 0520 EST (1000 - 1020 UT) Teff: .33 hour, No breaks
7 GEM: -1, 0(2), +1, +2, +3, +4
1 DLM: -1
1 DSV: 0
4 SPO: +1 (2), +3, +4
13 total meteors

The first hour was pretty evenly active throughout, no real spurts at
either end nor lulls in the middle as there usually is.  I noticed that the
GEMS I was seeing seemed a bit brighter and more distinctive to me than
yesterday morning, but nothing in that first hour could prepare me for what
was about to unfold!

Starting in right after 0500 local, I had a zero mag GEM drop into the
southwest horizon below the radiant. That one was followed about a minute
later by another lovely, blue-white, zero mag GEM streak due east in
central Leo.  Not 10 seconds later, another even better, -1 silvery-white
GEM shot due east, again in Leo, right over the track of the one that had
just hit!  The two meteors basically superimposed over each other!

Then, not more than a minute later, I had the -1 DLM rip off to the north
well above Leo and finally, a few seconds later, the zero mag DSV shot west
in western Leo to complete an amazing few minute span of meteors!  And then
right in the middle of all this, the clouds popped in and slammed the
curtain down right in front of my eyes!

In all, I had 12 total meteors (7 of them GEMs) hit between 0500 and 0512
before the clouds hit - a one a minute average!  What a way to start an
hour!  I was like: "Darn, what just happened!?  It was almost surreal.  And
then the clouds came in to shut down one of the best meteor spurts I'd seen
in quite awhile short of maybe a Leonid storm!

Hopefully, this bodes well for the upcoming GEM max, because if they can
sustain the kind of activity I saw a glimpse of this morning, it's gonna be
one humdinger of a show!!

More later, Clear skies to all, Paul J in North Florida
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